PERKY LEAGUE: Ferrie hurls Pottstown past Trooper

Jason Ferrie of the Pottstown Spartans took a no-hitter into the sixth inning against the Trooper Tribe in a Perky League matchup on Thursday night.
Rick Kauffman/Times Herald Staff

TROOPER — Jason Ferrie hasn’t been known to write out many prescriptions, but he had just the right medicine Thursday night for ailing Pottstown.

The left-hander carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning before settling for a three-hitter in hurling the visiting Spartans past Trooper, 2-1, in a rare, low-scoring game at the Lower Providence Township Building.

Scuffling for most of the season due to injury, Pottstown needed a boost, and got it from Ferrie, who handcuffed the Tribe and got just enough offense from his Spartans mates to halt the team’s four-game winless streak.

“Coming off last night (a dreadful Pottstown performance that featured seven errors and just three hits in a loss to Lansdale), I think we’ve all been around enough to know we just had to forget that one,” said Pottstown player-manager Jamie Nash. “But Jason coming out and throwing a game like that, that’s a real momentum builder.”

Advertisement

Before he took the mound Ferrie had a 1-0 lead thanks to Tyler Russ’ RBI single in the top of the first.

There was still a slight hangover from Wednesday night as Pottstown committed four errors in the game’s first two innings, but Ferrie was able to pitch around that early trouble, particularly in the second inning when he got a pop-up and a strikeout after the Tribe put runners at first and third with just one out.

“I had good command of my fastball,” Ferrie said, “and I was able to get ahead with it. That set up my secondary pitches and then I was able to pitch them backwards later in the game.”

Meanwhile, Trooper starter JP Harris was nearly as good. The right-hander allowed just five hits (all coming in the two frames that Pottstown scored), and kept the Tribe in the game.

“Like any pitcher I wanted to pound the strike zone and get ahead of the hitters,” Harris said. “They put a lot of balls in play, and our guys made the plays.

“We didn’t commit an error all night.”

Pottstown added another run in the top of the fifth on Adam Regensberg’s two-out RBI single.

But when Trooper was turned away in the fifth inning, it was becoming obvious that Ferrie was closing in on a no-no.

Then just as suddenly, it was gone.

“I thought about it before I went out (in the sixth inning),” Ferrie said, “and as soon as it popped in my mind I gave up a hit to the next batter.”

That hitter was catcher Drew Frankenfield, who opened the sixth with a line-drive double to left-center field.

Frankenfield moved to third when Brian Hartsell’s pop fly to right field dropped between three Spartans, then scored when Joe Conaway rolled a single to left.

The Tribe wanted more, but Ferrie retired the next three Tribesmen in order, then 1-2-3’d them in the seventh to close out the win.

The win was welcomed, but Nash said the Spartans are caught in a season they didn’t foresee.

“We were a game away from the semifinals last year, and we had one of our best teams,” Nash said. “We felt good going into this year.

“But the group we thought we’d have haven’t been around. Ben Gresh tore his ACL, Tom DeAngelis has a broken rib. We’ve added a couple of players that have helped, but it almost feels like a rebuilding season.”